Nina Bahinskaya, pensioner: They snatched the flag out of hands and ran away

20 декабря 2012, 16:31

A pensioner Nina Bahinskaya was detained by five riot policemen on October Square on December 19, an anniversary of the post-election protests.

Activist Nina Bahinskaya came to October Square in Minsk centre with a national white-red-white flag to mark the anniversary of the brutal dispersion of a peaceful rally against the rigged presidential elections. The pensioner told charter97.org she had chosen October Square, because the rally on December 19, 2010, began there:

"I entered a building on October Square and tied the flag to the flagpole. I then went to Independence Square. As I was passing by the skating rink, young people came to me and asked if a picket would be held. I said I was just walking. Other young people came closer, I heard shouts 'Long Live Belarus'. I waved the flag and made a few steps. I didn't even reach the Zero Kilometre Stone when two young men in plain clothes attacked me, snatched the flag out of my hands, broke the flagpole and ran to the metro entrance."

The activist said to a policeman, ho was standing near, that her property had been stolen:

"I ran after them. I was shouting for help because my belongings had been stolen. I saw a police officer in uniform and said to him I had been robbed. He understood everything and asked where those men were. He said he hadn't seen anything. We went to the metro entrance together, but didn't find them. I said we failed to catch robbers due to his slow reaction. I said he was in cahoots with those people and he received his money for that. He shrugged his shoulders and answered he hadn't seen anything," the activist says.

Nina Bahinskaya was detained by five riot policemen. "I was taken to the Tsentralny district police department, where a police report was drawn up. They asked why I had come to the square with a flag. I replied I didn't agree with the government and the flag was a symbol of resistance of our country. I am against this Muscovy that we see today. I was kept in the police department for three hours. They let me go at 10:30 p.m." the activist said.